Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127405
BHILLCLIMB AMAN~o~~~~n~ ~H_~_lim_b_~_~_~_fi_~_ro_oo_d~~~~~~~~ e Gerencer's win in the 800cc division earned the Harley rider the class championship. T im Frazier (right) and Lo u Gerencer, J r. scored the 540 an d 800cc class wins, respectively. Frazier also clinched th e class championship title. Bob Castledin e powered his Harley up th e hill secon d fastest in the 800cc class. Frazierfinishes perfectseason with Devil's Staircase win By Timothy Hall OREGONIA, OH, ocr. 13 im Frazi er made hillclimbin g h istor y wh en he topped th e 540cc cla ss at the Devi l's Stai rcase and becam e th e first rid er to win every roun d of the AMA National Cham pion sh ip Hillclimb Seri es. Frazier set th e record with a 7.027second run up the 440-foot hill , whi ch beat T ed Wilkins' elapsed time by .005 seconds. Paul Pinsonnault ro unded o u t the to p th ree with a 7.070-second climb. Lou Gerencer, Jr. was the fastest 10' the top in the 800cc class, and his win gave him the class cha mp io ns hi p over Cana da 's Wad e Williams. The two riders were tied in the points standings ente ring the fin al round, but Will iams enco un tered mech anical problems and was un abl e to mak e a second run a t the hill. T he 43rd Annual Devil's Staircase Hillclimb was held on a chilly Sunday a fternoo n in th e rolling hills of Oregonia. The hill was heavi ly compressed after three consecutive days of steady rain . A heavy fog burned off the hilltop as th e event began. Each rider was given two ru ns up the Staircase, wit h the fastest time counted for the fina l results. T 8 Wh en the first rou nd of the 540cc class began, th ird- ranked SCOll Everet t was the first to cha lle nge the hi ll. He started o ut stro ng and climbed 130 feet before gelli ng too mu ch traction o n the hill, whi ch nipped him back off the bik e. The o ther rid ers were qu ick to note the heighten ed traction on the hill and mad e carefu l adjust ments. Ted Wilkins cu t a very straig h t course up the hill and reach ed the top in 7.672 seconds o n hi s cus tom Rotax-powered machine. Steve Dresser was the next up and po sted a run of over eig h t seco nds, which left him in a low positi on at th e end of th e round. Frazier had been talking a ll morn in g about "gell ing th e job don e right the first tim e," and he saw to th at. Pullin g into the starting pit, he fired up h is nitro-burning BSA and th e so und thundered off th e hillsides. He cut a razor- sharp lin e to mak e it up the hill in 7.027 seconds, and he wouldn 't need a second chance. Pinso nnau lt recorded a 7.298-second run on his Honda to move into second at the end of round one, but the big surprise was Larry Licht . The 13thranked rider turned in an impressive